APB shutting down

[Weeman]

source: http://na.apb.com/en/news/announcements/2010/09/16/end-of-an-era

 

Realtime Worlds has announced that APB, which only came out at the end of June, is being shut down for good.

It was probably inevitable: After a long, expensive development period, APB was released at the end of June to sub-par reviews and a decided lack of interest, forcing Realtime Worlds to lay off staff and eventually go into administration. Such a quick collapse didn't bode well for the future of the game and today, less than 90 days after it launched, the other shoe dropped.

 

APB has been a fantastic journey, but unfortunately that journey has come to a premature end," Community Officer Ben Bateman wrote in what is now the only message available on the APB forums. "Today we are sad to announce that despite everyone's best efforts to keep the service running, APB is coming to a close. It's been a pleasure working on APB and with all its players. Together we were building an absolutely amazing game, and for that, we thank you. You guys are awesome!"

 

He said he currently doesn't know what options will be available to players with outstanding RTW Points but that they'll likely be laid out in a forthcoming press release. The game is no longer available on Steam and retail copies have apparently been pulled from shelves, but Bateman tweeted earlier today that the servers will up for "a little longer" and invited gamers to jump in and say goodbye. Specific shutdown times weren't revealed, although Eurogamer says the plug will be pulled once and for all tomorrow.

 

APB will be free until it's gone, but Bateman noted on Twitter that the servers are going down for good tonight. In other words, if you want to be around for the big finish, you'd better get moving.

 

APB has been a fantastic journey, but unfortunately that journey has come to a premature end. Today we are sad to announce that despite everyone's best efforts to keep the service running; APB is coming to a close. It's been a pleasure working on APB and with all its players. Together we were building an absolutely amazing game, and for that, we thank you. You guys are awesome!

 

From all of the Realtime World staff we thank you for your continued support.

 

The servers are still up, so join the party and say goodbye!

 

- Ben 'APBMonkey' Bateman (Community Officer)

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2010/aug/27/realtime-worlds-collapse

 

more detailed story.

Edited September 16, 2010 by Weeman

[Lt. Awesome]

So...Everybody who bought it is fucked?

[BigDaddy1979]

Glad I didn't buy it.

[Cefdinir]

Good thing I got this game for free. It's a shame that this game didn't shape-up to what it could be, great concept but poorly executed.

[Linoleum Knive]

So apparently the people that bought this get rammed twice eh?

 

Didnt we give away two copies of this as a prize in July?

[Weeman]

Good thing I got this game for free. It's a shame that this game didn't shape-up to what it could be, great concept but poorly executed.

 

yea, if they had fixed their matchmaking, i don't think this would of happened. The game was awesome pre-beta but when the game went live all the 8 year olds and stat farmers rolled in.

[ttaM]

Sad to see the game's shutting down. Back to Alpha Protocol I guess.

[SayHelloRosco]

That's just moronic. Say I bought a month of this game yesterday, I just wasted 10 bucks (or whatever the monthly fee is).

[Weeman]

apparently the rights to this game were sold to epic games who will continue the project.

Edited September 18, 2010 by Weeman